Software as a service or SaaS, is a a method of software delivery where applications are delivered from a central location, usually over the internet, instead of being installed locally on your computer.

For small business owners there can be a significant impact on costs and flexibility by using Saas. Because there is no upfront licensing fees to pay and it is usually a subscription based service, costs are reduced. Further, being web based, the software can be accessed anywhere allowing a true ‘mobile’ service for small business. Below is a video outlining how SaaS works.

There are many types of software available in SaaS format including accounting, CRM and sales software. If you are interested in gaining the benefits of SaaS, ask your current software provider what options are available and do some research for yourself as well. The benefits may be worth it for your business.

Until next time,
Samantha

In a tribute to Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, today’s champion tip comes from Katherine Edgar.

In 1999, Katherine founded The Synergy Group, an international professional services firm that operates in 23 Asia-Pacific cities. The Group recently extended its reach to two emerging economic powerhouses, India and China.

How has becoming a mother changed the way you see and develop your business?

Before my beautiful baby daughter, Akira, arrived, my partner and I assured ourselves constantly that life would not substantially change once our little bundle of joy had arrived. I mean, how hard could it really be? Oh, how silly we were!

The funny thing is that before becoming pregnant, everyone always said, ‘This business is so much your baby’. It is only now, as a mother, that I realise just how accurate a comment that was, even if my colleagues and friends did not realise it.

In the same way that we raise and nurture a child, I learnt that the good parenting of my business in those early years meant that stepping aside from that 24/7 role to have my child was entirely possible.

Nothing prepares a woman for the impact of her first child. It is a wonderful and humbling experience. Early in my pregnancy, we arranged for me to have a nanny three days a week so that, in part, I would be able to continue the same degree of control over my business (my other baby).

What I have learnt in the first few months of being a mother is how to delegate and outsource. Becoming a mother has forced me to step away and allow the business to grow and flourish without me. My wonderful staff members have had to make key decisions and judgments without my input.

The lesson I have learnt - and it is a wonderful one - is that by laying the foundations for a healthy business I could retain the control and direction from a distance, while still being a devoted mother.

This website contains even more great tips from Katherine Edgar.

Members can click here to read more now.

To all the Mum’s out there who are juggling business, babies, kids and everything else in their busy lives, Happy Mother’s Day.

Enjoy breakfast in bed and treasure not only the little people in your life, but your own Mum (and if you’re lucky enough, Grandmother) as well.

Until next time
Samantha

Today’s post comes from one of our members, Troy Hinchco. Troy felt compelled to write this letter to the editor “after sitting up most nights hearing the big boys crowing about instability in small business”.

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Open Letter to the Australian Consumer – at large.

I write this letter as someone whose only regular exposure to Letters to the Editor are those which my wife reads out to me because she thinks they will touch a chord, amuse or infuriate me.

This letter is not a direct reaction to one of those letters, it is instead to ask Australian consumers to consider a small thing when making purchasing decisions in the future.

The Australian consumer – and I know this because I am one – is being given messages of security, assurance and confidence in their purchases of goods and services from some of the various industries biggest heavyweights. Corporations are being caring, sharing, and responsibly warning you of the insecurity of dealing with Australia’s ‘little guys’. Gerry Harvey politely points out the plight of the small operator in retail, as do a myriad of other comparable business celebrity’s offering comment about ‘the security of larger, trusted brands, businesses and services’ as we struggle through this economic pressure point. Normally directly or indirectly in reference to their own business.

The greatest threat that the courting of consumers by large businesses, regardless of industry, is that in times like these when consumers are at their most susceptible to influence from the comforting arms and scripted promises of ‘safer’ corporates, they can do the greatest damage to Australia’s community of small businesses.

A small businesses reason for creation differs slightly from industry to industry, for the most part the emergence of smaller businesses is normally because of their ability to service a portion of the market better, more economically or with slightly more customer-centric differences from that of the larger corporate brethren.

The larger corporates whose creation story may evoke tales of the humble start-up and the emergence from their own challenges and trials does this because it encapsulates the basic elements of the Australian dream – the dream of going out alone, being your own boss, making something for yourself.

But all corporate businesses whether started from a double garage in Sutherlandshire in Sydneys southern suburbs 100 years ago or being created with a Big Bang approach in the 90’s with the heavily funded launch through IPO’s and big hitting investors – all larger businesses detune their customer focus at some point. At some stage in their evolution being driven by striving for absolute customer satisfaction at a transaction by transaction level is replaced by measured acceptable failure levels benchmarked against other ‘comparable’ corporates around the world. Standard and ongoing application of the 80/20 rule optimising returns on investment and the resultant dumming down of their service offer to fringe, niche and ‘non-ideal’ customers gives new businesses who are built around those needs, a reason to exist.

In times like these though the larger businesses make noises about their changed service commitment as they react to tougher times and struggle themselves to achieve key financial objectives. If they do adopt new customer focus, will it stay, is it something that has come about as a short term grab for business they ultimately don’t think ‘suits’ their model for optimised profitability? Probably not.

Is there a place for large the corporate ? Yes, of course, they are vital to our economy as booming entities of business able to tap into resources unlike anything comparable from the realms of small business collectively or not. They employ large numbers of hardworking Australians, they contract and sub-contract out millions of dollars of business to small businesses and trades people every year. They are, where suits and is congruent to their branding, philanthropic to a fault. We simply need big business and we are better for them.

Do I buy from large corporates? Of course, we shop at Coles or Woolworths for 70% of our grocery and consumable products , we buy petrol from the local Caltex, because it’s accessible and might even be a reasonable price but, we also make a point to buy as much fruit and vegetables from our local Market, meat from a local butcher and bread from a local bakery as we can.

Are we doing this because the produce is a higher quality, the service a million times better and because they know our names? Sometimes yes to all of these – and - sometimes no to all of them as well.

We do this because we know that when we compare a local, national and global market with a mix of large corporate entities and smaller Mum and Dad businesses we as consumers and members of a greater community are given the better range of options in all areas of goods and service.

If you are buying a product, a service or even advice – take the time to compare some of the smaller operators in that field – quite often they may be cheaper, faster, more open to offering a slightly customised product based directly around your needs - but - greater still there is a chance that you will be dealing with someone who will pay themselves last as they strive to fulfil a service that you will be satisfied with, a service that you might talk to others about and may ultimately lead to growth in business for them through word of mouth. They won’t be investing in broad brush advertising on the backside of a yellow bus just to satisfy a ‘brand recall’ matrix some guru from America wrote about years ago. Their money and time and dreams are fully committed to their business and their own fulfillment of the Australian dream – not to retire at 38, drink French champagne and eat Russian caviar – but to be their own boss, to prove themselves to themselves as capable and contribute to the countries emergence from the global economic struggle.

On behalf of Australian small business owners, employees and suppliers I implore you not to accept the corporate route to quality product and service as your default, as this would make the media and high level corporate crowing about instability in small business a self foreseeing prophecy. Instead allow us at least the chance to stack up and compete for your business. All we ask is the opportunity to be considered.

Thank you.
Troy Hinchco
Very Small Business Owner

(TIAG Australia Pty Ltd, Select Home Products)

Congratulations if you’ve just launched a new small business. No doubt it took a great deal of work to conceive the idea and to get the business ready for prime time. Even though you might be convinced this is the best idea ever dreamed of, it is going absolutely nowhere if people do not know it exists.

Marketing is the next critical step for your new small business and initially, it can be very time consuming. It is important to plan carefully to ensure your marketing works hard and brings the desired results.

The traditional methods of advertising don’t work for all new small business and can be very costly. An advertisement in the local newspaper can cost anywhere from $50-500 (or more) depending on the size, scale and frequency with which the ad runs. Similarly, to make an impact in the Yellow Pages, it may cost hundreds, even thousands.

Most traditional marketing methods are only as effective as the people who notice the ad whether it be print, television or radio. As a new small business with a small budget, it is likely your message will go largely unnoticed in these mediums and the cost versus the return is not warranted.

Outside of this, there are many ways to advertise your business and a lot of them depend on having an online presence, particularly a website. It is critical in this age of information technology to have a website that will promote your offer to prospective customers. Whether you are selling a product, service or information, a well designed website is invaluable to your business.

Once you have an operational website, you can use the power of the Internet to drive visitors to it. Some ideas for driving traffic are to create a blog about the industry your business is in, join a forum, create a press release, upload a demonstration video to sites such as YouTube, participate in social networking (Facebook, Twitter) and to generate keyword-rich content for search engine optimization. And the great thing is, a lot of these tools don’t cost money, just your time.

All these tools not only serve your customers by providing great value for them, they help your website get noticed by search engines such as Google. The more you get noticed by the search engines, the higher you site will appear in users search results. And the best part about this is that the leads to your business are free because you aren’t paying for an advertisement to get these people to notice your business.

Marketing your new small business is the next step after launch. While it can entail some work, a good plan and careful consideration of the different methods and costs involved will ensure your money works for you. So take the time to plan your marketing and the leads, sales and growth will follow.

Until next time
Samantha

Listening to customers is not all about the old adage of “the customer is always right”. Rather, it is inviting them to talk to you, listening to what they have to say and taking some positive action to improve their experience with you and your business.

The importance of listening to customers was highlighted to me recently. I was in a room full of business owners - new, existing, long-term, short-term – of all types. I spoke to quite a few of them during the breaks, and later it struck me that, in every case, it was a very one sided conversation. That is, I was the one doing all the talking, asking all the questions and finding out more about these people.

Noticeably, not one single person that I spoke to asked me anything about myself or my business. Not one. This really struck me later and got me thinking about whether or not these people are listening to customers, or even attempting to invite conversation with them. If not, how do they connect with their customers, if in fact they do at all? To my way of thinking, if you want to know what’s going on inside people’s heads, particularly your customers head, you need to ask.

We were given 2 ears, 2 eyes and 1 mouth. These tools need to be used in that ratio - listen, watch and then speak. Ask you customers’ questions and if you are in front of them, watch as they speak for unspoken cues and body language.

Listening to customers doesn’t always have to take place face-to-face. It can also be achieved through other ‘ears’ such as survey and feedback forms, particularly online. The important thing is that you have your ears open and are listening. As Richard Branson says below…”Listen, listen, listen, it doesn’t cost anything to listen”.

Once you’ve been listening to customers, then you can start to speak and communicate, but only if you can add value or help solve a problem in some way. Don’t speak just for the sake of it. Don’t try and sell them a blue widget when it is quite clear they are not a widget person, but more of a gidget person, and would probably prefer pink anyway.

Listening to customers is an important skill for business owners and it is foolhardy to expect too much from your business if you are not doing this consistently and regularly.

Until next time
Samantha

The differentiation strategy used in your business can be a critical element of success. I recently visited the Hunter Valley which provided a great case study on how small business can differentiate themselves in a competitive market. It was also clear, that in some small businesses, the owner themselves can be an important part of the differentiation strategy.

The Hunter Valley - Differentiation Strategy In Action

The Hunter Valley is a gorgeous part of Australia and is a premier wine growing region with the two main varietals being Semillon and Shiraz. With over 120 wineries there is plenty to keep you occupied. We enjoyed a one day wine tour while visiting that took in 6 wineries, an Irish Pub for lunch and cheese tasting. It was a great day and you get to really find out a lot when talking to the people who have made winemaking their business.

One aspect that really got me thinking was how do you make yourself standout when you have 119 competitors all on your doorstep? This is not an easy task, especially when everyone is essentially competing in the same market with the same product group (wine) and subject to the same environmental factors (e.g. weather and tourists). What differentiation strategy do you use?

A differentiation strategy can be based on various aspects of marketing – product, promotion, distribution, branding. Here are some of the types of differentiation strategy used by wineries:

Offering a unique product e.g. organic wines

Bringing in wine and/or grapes from other regions to make their own varietals not readily produced in the region

Creating a point of difference with their wine club (they all have a wine club). For example one winery includes local produce to complement the wine sent to members.

Limiting distribution to the cellar door and wine club members only which creates ‘exclusivity’.

Offering a complementary dining or food experience to allow customers to match wine and food.

Leveraging a big, well known brand eg Lindemans, Rosemount, McGuigans

It really was fascinating, but each of the wineries I visited employed an individual differentiation strategy and created their own unique experience. As a customer, I found some of these ‘experiences’ were definitely more enjoyable than others (not that there were any bad ones).

‘You’ As The Differentiation Strategy

Interestingly, the best experiences for me often came down to the ‘human factor’ and how well the product and brand were presented and explained. The wineries that absolutely triumphed were those where the owner was involved and their real passion for the product was evident. You can’t help but get drawn in by their story, making it all the more enjoyable.

As business owners, this emphasised what an important role ’you’ can play in making your business stand out from the crowd. Differentiate your business by putting yourself into it. There is only one ‘you’ and no-one else can copy ‘you’.

It is still important to look at other ways to get an edge, but this is one that will be truly unique to your business and create a differentiation strategy no-one else can replicate.

Until next time,
Samantha

Promotion Mix

The Promotion Mix is the mix of tools used to communicate with your target market and promote your business. While there are many different types of promotional tools that can be used in the promotion mix, their effectiveness and benefits can vary greatly from business to business. This is because all other marketing elements (target markets, product, price, distribution) combine to make every business a unique proposition in the market place. (Note: if there is nothing unique about the business, no amount of promotion will help in the long run).

Some of the promotional tools that small business owners can use in their promotion mix are listed below. This list is not exhaustive but gives an outline of the more common and cost effective options.

Advertising – local papers, newspapers, yellow pages, magazines, radio, online
Direct Marketing – direct mail, email marketing
Public Relations – online and offline submission of reports, articles and other newsworthy information
Promotions - trade shows, exhibitions, coupons, letterbox flyers,
Personal Selling – telemarketing, sales presentations,
Sponsorship – local fetes, community events, sporting teams
Website

While the above list may look daunting, it is likely only a few of these will be suitable for the promotion mix of your business. The important thing is to be using a range of tools, not just one or two. This creates multiple potential ‘touch points’ with your customers.

For example, if you are only using Yellow Pages, chances are you are missing business from anyone who no longer uses Yellow Pages, but now does all their searching on the internet. In contrast, Yellow Pages combined with some online advertising or direct marketing could round out the promotion mix and bring an increase in leads to your business.

A great example of a promotion mix using multiple promotional tools is Dell computers. Over the last 12 months I have personally seen the following promotions from them – Fax (one page specials flyer), Email (with links to website), Brochures (in the mail) and Advertisements (magazine and internet). I’ve been ‘touched’ many times, and guess what type of computer I use. Yep, a Dell. Their consistency and multiple touch points has, for me anyway, created top of mind awareness every time I’ve looked to buy a computer.

Now, while we don’t all have their budget, the point to note is they have utilised a diverse promotion mix to reach their customers. They would test and measure each tool in the mix - discard the ones no longer working, tweak the ones that are and try new ones.

Evaluate Your Promotion Mix

Firstly, list out all the promotional tools you currently use in your business. Of these, what are working and what aren’t? If you don’t know the answer to this, then it’s time to measure. Start by asking any new contact to your business how they found you and keep a tally.

It’s amazing how quickly you will get a picture of the effectiveness of your promotion mix. From here, you can start to make changes.

Until next time
Samantha

The economy may be in a downturn, but people still buy. They just spend their money differently than they would during better times resulting in recession proof products that actually prosper in such times.

The following changes in buying behavior highlight some recession proof products:

- Searches for domestic holidays are up as people cut back on overseas trips
- By exercising at home there is a saving in gym fees, so more people are searching for home gym equipment
- Sales of sausages have increased at the expense of steak
- Bread roll sales are up as more people eat at lunch at home or take it to work
- Cadbury has recorded a 30% increase in profits as consumers turn to chocolate as an affordable treat

More recession proof products are also discussed in the following video from CBS News.

Two major points from this report are – 1) People are buying what they need, not what they want and 2) Any product that has a ‘stay at home’ element, is prospering.

For small businesses that are already selling recession proof products, the news is good. Just remember, now is not the time to cut your marketing.

For others, it is important to respond to the current consumer mindset and behavior. Particularly if you have competition taking away sales as they are tapping into the changed behaviours (either intentionally or by default). There may be some simple changes that can be made to your existing products, or it may be necessary to completely review your offering. Either way, this needs to be a priority for your business.

Until next time
Samantha

On the weekend I attended an Internet Marketing event and as always left with my head spinning and lots of great new information. The event was run by two gentlemen of the same name, spelt differently – Shaun Stenning and Sean Rasmussen. Both are leading internet marketers within Australia and passed on their invaluable knowledge and experience to help anyone, who was willing to take action, make their first dollar online.

Not only did they cover internet marketing principles such as SEO (Search engine optimization), Affiliate marketing, website layouts and colours, email marketing and the new social media, they also covered many psychological aspects of internet marketing. That is the why and the how of what people do what they do online. It was fascinating. For example, do you know that green is the worst colour you can have for a website? In contrast, blue creates immediate rapport with customers and is a great colour to use.

Another thing that was imparted was the need for us all to take action. It’s fine to read, listen and learn, but the real change occurs when you take action. This is relevant to anything we do. Don’t just look at nice recipes – make them. Don’t just read a book on how to improve your business – take action and apply some new strategies. Don’t attend a seminar for two days and then do nothing with your new information. Make the most of your opportunities. As Shaun says: Opportunity + Action = $million.

Action Step - Take Action!

Until next time
Samantha

Small business marketing, while it can be very time consuming, is a critical component of your business. Regardless of the stage of your business and even if you think it is the best idea ever dreamed of, it is going absolutely nowhere if people do not know it exists. The only way you will get get people calling, visiting and buying from your business is if you tell them about it. Some considerations on how to spread the word are outlined below.

The traditional methods of advertising may not work for you and could be very costly. For example, an advertisement in the local newspaper can cost anywhere from $50-500 (or more) depending on the size, scale and frequency with which the ad runs. This method of advertising is only as effective as the people who notice the ad in the paper. With print media (eg newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages) fast becoming lower on the priority list for most people looking for content, this advertising medium is becoming less preferred for small business marketing.

These days, many of the ways to advertise your business depend on having a website. In this age of information technology a website is not a ‘maybe’, it is a ‘must have’ for small business marketing. If you don’t have a website, you can be assured that your potential customers are visiting your competitors online. Once you have this site operational, you can use the power of the Internet to drive visitors to it.

Some ideas for driving traffic to your website are to create a blog about the industry your business is in, join a forum, create a press release, upload a video to sites such as YouTube and perhaps most important, generate keyword-rich content for search engine optimization. Don’t be concerned if you don’t know a lot about these tools, there are plenty of people that do, so you can outsource the work. Alternatively, there are plenty of learning materials available to help.

Small business marketing is a lot of work that needs to be conducted carefully with intelligent spending; do not throw a lot of money at advertising without first defining a solid strategy for it. Having a good strategy for promoting your business will help drive the types of customers you want to it and convince them to buy from you.

Until next time
Samantha